Automatic food forming and cutting machine



March 12, 1940. w. STRlCKER 2,193,147

AUTOMATIC FOOD FORMING AND CUTTING MACHINE Filed March 4, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 a4 62 E 80 7a 5- 6o C inn 1 f; 342 I22 I25 Snventor;

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March 12, 194%. w. STRICKER AUTOMATIC FOOD FORMING AND CUTTING MACHINE '4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 4, 1938 3nventor: William ,SZwicifer, ff

March 12, 1940. w. STRICKER 2,193,147

AUTOMATIC FOOD FORMING AND CUTTING MACHINE Filed March 4, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 24 I 4 m I I us y T 1oz 10 I26 I00 1 E 12423 250 I '162 2/4 way ma 200 I94 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 12, 1940 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFiCE AUTOMATIC FOOD FORMING AND CUTTING MACHINE William Stricker, Kansas City, Mo.

Application March 4, 1938, Serial No. 193,928.

Claims.

The machine in general includes a suitable.

number of receptacles into which the plastic materials are placed, a plunger for forcing the plastic material from each receptacle, shaping means communicating with the receptacle or receptacles and through which the material is forced toform a strip, means for cutting the strip into articles of uniform length as it emerges from said shaping means, the rotary table upon which the articles are deposited, and valve means located between the cutting means and the table to regulate the passage of the articles from the former to the latter and to insure placement of the articles in radial position upon the table.

The machine also includes means for automatically stopping the operation thereof when the plungers approach within a short distance of the bottom of the respective receptacles to the end that damage to the machine may be avoided.

The receptacle, or receptacles, and the rotary table are so proportioned with respect to each other that the table will hold all of the articles made from onefilling of the receptacle, or receptacles, to the end that the machine will not require attention until the plastic materials comprising one filling have been converted into articles of uniform lengths and deposited upon the table.

5 While various plastic materials maybe shaped and cut with my machine for example I have shown it adapted, in the present instance, for forming tamales. The present invention is an improvement on the one disclosed by my U. S.

' Patent of June 18, 1935, No. 2,005,599, from which tion, of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a broken front elevation of the machine with the rotary table in cross section. Fig.3 is a broken front elevation, partly in section, showing parts located at the rear of some of the parts disclosed by Fig. 2. 5

. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section showing a portion of the machine frame and some of the gearing.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan View, partly in section, showing some of the parts at the forward 10 portion of the machine. i

Fig. 6 is a detail plan view partly in sectio of some of the parts shown at the front of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 isadetail side view of the parts shown by Fig. 6. 15

Fig. 8 is a broken plan view of thefrontportion of the machine.

Fig. 9 is an inverted broken plan View of the rotary table and .a spider upon which it is supported. a 20 On referring to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the frame of the machine is in the form of a stand 2 mounted upon casters 4, so that themachine can be readily moved from one place to another. 25

Two receptacles 6 and 8 are shown in the present instance for holding the materials to be acted upon. If tamales are to be formed, cooked mush comprising a suitable cereal, or a combination of cereals, is placed in the receptacle 6, and cooked-: 6 ineat, or a combination of meats, is placed in the receptacle 8. The receptacles B and 8 are removably seated upon the top ll] of the stand 2 which has openings 12 and M through which the slightly conical bottom portions of the receptac1es.x 6 and 8, respectively, project. The bottoms of the receptacles 6 and 8 have outlet nipples l6 and i8, respectively, the former-of which communicates with a T-coupling-ZB and the latter with an elbow .22 carrying a nozzle 24 which extendsycondition, the elbow 22 is removably connected 5g to the nipple IS with a nut 28' while the T-coupling 20 is removably connected to the nipple l6 withanut 30.

Means for forcing the materials from the receptacles'S and 8 and through the nozzles 23.. 55

and 24 is provided in the form of plungers 38 and 48, equipped with stems 46 and 48, one of which has right hand threads and the other left hand threads which fit into the corresponding threads of rotary nuts 58 and 52 through which the stems 46, and 48, respectively, extend. The plungers 38 and 48 are advanced when the nuts 58 and 52 are rotated in the proper directions, but are prevented from rotating with, said nuts by means of a crossbar 54 having rectangular apertures 56 and 58 to receive the rectangular upper ends of the stems 46 and 48, respectively. The upper ends of the nuts 58 and 52 bear against respective ball bearings 68 and are secured the hubs of a pair of intermeshing gear wheels 66 and 68, whereby they are rotated in reverse directions to effect simultaneous longitudinal movement of the stems 46 and 48, respectively; in the same direction.

Just before the plungers 38 and 48 reach the end of their downward stroke; which terminates immediately above the bottoms of the respective ---receptacles Band 8, a pin I6, extending. trans- .versely through the upper portion of the stem 46, engages and depresses the underlying end of a lever 18,'causing the same to open a switch 88 controlling an electric circuit, not shown, leading from a suitable source of supply to a prime a mover preferably in the form of an electric mo- H30."

tor A, which drives the gear wheels 66 and 68 through a reduction train'hereinafter described. The switch 88v maybe of any well-known form. having a push-bottom 82 to effect opening of the circuit and a'push-bu'tton 84 for closing said circuit.

The thrust bearings 68 are mounted in the upper portion of a yoke 88 having a longitudinal bar 98 for supporting the gear wheels 66 and 88.

The yoke 88is connected at one side to the top I8 of the stand 2 with pivots 92 so thatafter the plungers 38 and 48 have been raised above the receptacles 6 and 8,.said yoke 88 and the parts carried thereby may be'tilted' in the direction of the arrow on Fig. 2 for convenience in placing the materials in the receptacles 6 and 8, or so that said receptacles may be removed from the top I8. for sterilization. Setscrews 93 threaded in the top I8 serve to secure the yoke 88 against accidental tilting when the machine is in operation.

Referring again to the nozzles 23 and 24 (Fig. l), which shape the materials as they are forced therethrough it may be proper to state that said materials are'of such consistency and thepressure applied thereto is so great that they hold their shape and. emerge from the nozzle 28 in the form of a strip which passes upon a shelf '96 and between two blades of a series forming part of a rotary cutter 98, which is freely mounted upon a stub shaft I88 carried by a bracket I82 projecting from the forward end of the stand 2. A nut I84 serves to hold the cutter 98 upon the shaft I88.

When the strip of material is forced from the nozzle 23 adistance equal to-the length into which the articles are to' be cut the rotary cutter 98 is advanced one step and thus coacts with the end of the nozzle 23 in severing the strip.

The blade that coacts in severing the article B from. the strip also-pushes said article off the shelf 96 and upon a valve I88 to which the article B is directed by the flanged end of the shelf and a guard 91. The valve I88 has an upper horizontal portion I8! to receive the article, and

a downwardly. extending lever I18 terminating adjacent to a cam III and mounted upon a fulcrum II2 secured to the lower end of a frame I I4 which in turn is secured to the forward end of the stand 2 with bolts II6. While the valve I88 is a desirable feature of the invention it is not absolutely essential as the articles could fall directly upon a rotary table hereinafter described.

The valve I88 is normally held in closed position with a coil spring II8 attached at one end to the upper portion of said valve and at its opposite end to a pin I28 projecting rearwardly from the frame H4, which is provided with oppositely disposed vertical slideways I22 in which a reciprocatory member I24 operates. The member I24 has a vertical slot I26 to clear the forward portions of the. nozzle 23 and the bracket I82. A lever I26 mounted upon a stub shaft I28, has a 'pin-and-slot connection I38 with the lower end I with said lever.

As the reciprocatory member I24 moves on its downward stroke it rotates the cutter 98 one step through the intermediary of a pawl I82 and a ratchet wheel I84, which latter is secured to the rear end of the cutter 98. The pawl I82 is mounted upon a pivot I86 projecting from the member I24 and is yieldably pressed against the ratchet wheel I84 by means of a spring I88. When the pawl I82 is carried upward by the reciprocatory member I24--the cutter 98 is held from backward rotation by a brake member I85,

.mounted upon a pin I81- and yieldably held in engagement with the cutter 98 by means of a spring I89.

On each rotation of the cam I II the valve I88 is opened and permits an article B to fall upon a horizontally-disposed rotary table I98 preferably of circular formation. The top of table I98 has a plurality of fixed trays I92 arranged radially and in an annular row thereon to prevent the articles from rolling out of place when dropped upon the table by valve I88. As shown by Fig. 8 the upper portion I81 of the valve I88 is extended radially over the margin of the table to deliver the articles B in a radial position upon said table. The table I98 is removably mounted upon a spider I 94 having a centrally-disposed hub I96 secured with a set screw I98 upon the upper end of a vertically-disposed threaded shaft 288, so that when loaded with the articles B the table may be removed for replacement by another table. The shaft 288 has a groove and feather connection 282 with a worm wheel 284 through the axial bore. of which it freely extends so that it may move vertically in said bore while being rotated by said worm wheel 284.

As the shaft 288 revolves it carries the table I98 downward therewith at each revolution a distance equal, or approximately equal, to the diameter of the articles, so that as the latter are deposited in radial tiers upon the table they will clear the horizontal portion I81 of the valve I88, which is spaced close to the top of the table to reduce the drop of the articles from the valve to a minimum. Downward movement of the shaft 288 is effected by an interengaging segmental nut 286, Fig. 6, fixed to a hand lever 288 mounted upon a fulcrum 2 I 8 projecting upwardly from a small bracket 2I2 secured at its rear end to a large bracket 2l4 fixed to the forward end of the stand 2. The hand lever 288 is normally drawn towards the threaded shaft 208 by a coil spring 2H5. The small bracket 2I2 has an aperture 2!! through which the threaded shaft 286 freely extends.

The worm wheel 264 is driven by a worm 2I8 fixed upon the forward end of a shaft 226 mounted in bearings 222 on the bracket 2I2, and in a bearing 224 on the front end of the stand 2. When the threaded shaft 288 has reached the end of its downward movement the rotary table I98,

with its'load of articles, may be lifted from the spider I94 to make room for an empty table, and the shaft 288 may be quickly raised by hand to its initial position, Fig. 1, after the hand lever 288 has been shifted to the right, Fig. 6, to disengage the segmental nut 286 from said shaft 288. In large machines where the rotary table will be too heavy to lift conveniently from the spider I94, one or more attendantsmay be employed to remove the articles to prevent them from piling up in tiers, in which case the segmental nut 266 and the threads on the shaft 260 may be dispensed with as it will not be necessary for the table to move downward as it rotates. When dispensing with the threads and the nut 286 the table may obviously be supported in any suitable manner such, for instance, as securing a collar to shaft 280 and permitting it to rest upon the bracket 2 I2, and if desired the table need not rotate continuously while in operation but may be given a step by step movement similar to that imparted to the rotary cutter 98.

In order that rotation of the table I may be stopped at any time without stopping the rest of the machine I provide a hand lever 228 for lifting the worm wheel 264 to the dotted line position disclosed by Fig. '7, to disengage it from the worm 2I8. The hand lever 226 is bifurcated to straddle the threaded shaft 208, and is fulcrumed upon a pin 225 carried by the bracket 2I2.

' Referring now more particularly to the mechanism for harmonizing the operation of the plungers 38 and 48, the rotary cutter 98, the valve I68 and the rotary table I90, it will be seen on reference to Figs. 1 and 2 that the motor A is provided with a small drive pulley 228 which, through the intermediary of an endless belt 230, drives a larger pulley 232, fixed upon one end of a shaft 234 mounted in a bearing 236 and provided with a fixed worm 238 intermeshing with a worm wheel 248 fixed upon the lower portion of a vertical shaft 242. The shaft 242 is provided at its upper end with a small gear wheel 244, which, like the gear wheel 328 of my patent hereinbefore referred to, is slidable upon the shaft 242 so that it may be shifted in and out of mesh with the gear wheel 68. When intermeshing with the gear wheel 58, the small gear wheel 244 is adapted to effect downward movement of the plungers 38 and 40 by driving the gear wheels 88 and 68.

In addition to the shaft 242 controlling the operation of the plungers through the inter mediary of the gears 244, 66 and 68, it also controls the operation of the rotary cutter 98 through the intermediary of bevel gears 246 and 248, the shaft I34, cam I32, lever I26, member I24, pawl I82 and ratchet wheel I84. the bevel gears 246 and 248 are fixed upon the respective shafts 242 and I34.

The shaft 242 also controls the rotation of the table I96 through the intermediary of the bevel As shown by Fig. 1,-

adjustable bracket 258, serves to take up slack in the sprocket chain 254.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, it will be understood that I have provided a machine which is Well adapted for the purpose intended, and while I have shown a preferred embodiment of the machine I reserve all rights tosuch changes and I modifications thereof as properly fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a machine of the character described; a rotary table adapted to have articles of plastic material stacked thereon in a circle by shaping and cutting mechanisms as the table rotates, a spider upon which said table is fixed, a threaded shaft fixed to said spider for rotating the latter to insure stacking of the articles thereon in a circle, means for rotating said shaft, and nonrotary means coacting with said shaft for lowering the same and the table during rotation thereof.

2. In a machine of the character described, a horizontally disposedrotary table adapted to have articles of plastic material stacked thereon in a circle by shaping and cutting mechanisms as the table rotates, gearing including a threaded rotary shaft for rotating said table to insure stacking of the articles thereon in a circle, said threaded shaft being arranged in axial alinement with the table, and a nonrotary nut coacting with said threaded bait for lowering the same and the table during rotation thereof.

3. In a machine of the character described, a rotary table, a threaded vertical shaft arranged in axial alinement with said table to support and rotate the same, a driven wheel through which said shaft freely extends, a groove and feather connection through which said driven wheel drives the shaft, and means intermeshing with the treaded shaft for moving the same downward as it rotates.

4. In a machine of the character describer, a horizontally disposed rotary table, a threaded rotary shaft for rotating said table and moving the same downward, a nonrotary nut for moving said shaft downward, a gear wheel slidably engaged by said shaft and through which the latter is driven by the former, gearing for driving said gear wheel, a hand lever for disengaging said gear wheel from the gearing and provided with a bifurcated terminal through which the threaded shaft freely extends, and a support for said hand lever provided with an aperture through which the shaft freely extends.

5. In a machine of the character described, a

. horizontally disposed rotary table, a threaded gear wheel, a nonrotary nut for moving the threaded shaft downward, a hand lever to which said nut is fixed, and a support provided with an aperture through which the shaft freely extends and on which said hand lever is fulcrumed.

WILLIAM STRICKER. 

